Science and Business: Is it better when we're together?

The Science of Green

The scientific world and the economic world can often seem like worlds apart. Classically their divergence stems from their end goals: the spirit of science is the pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of all, the spirit of free trade is the best deal that serves the seller, irrespective of the product.

Those seem to be two very opposing mantras, but they are skewed and unrealistic. They are how a child would see the world, in terms of right and wrong, cut and dry and this is, of course, an over simplified version of a world that is far from simple. This old worldview makes business out to be a parasite that feeds on the scientific community, but again, this is far from the truth.

In fact there is a beautiful symbiosis that exists between the two entities that is as fragile as any ecosystem. But to better illustrate this in the modern day, let us take an example from the early 1900s.

Henry Ford, inventor of the Model-T

Henry Ford, was the inventor and entrepreneur behind the Model-T, one of the most successful cars of all time. This car revolutionized the automotive industry and transformed the car from a luxury item to something that was attainable for nearly every person in America. This was his dream exactly, however, like most dreams it did not come without a few sleepless nights before hand.

His struggle in bringing the cost down for the general public lay in his production overheads. So he set about the task in optimizing his production line. It was then that he began working with a scientist by the name of Frederick Winslow Taylor. Taylor developed management and organizational theories which revolutionalsed the manufacturing process.

For example, it was noticed that keeping the workers stationary and moving the body of the car was more efficient.

This collaboration of minds, one in the pursuit of study and optimization, the other in production efficiency changed the production rate from 10 thousand units in 1908 to over 15 million by 1927.

So what does this have to do with science and business? It ushered in an era where the collaboration of both business and science delivered the previously unattainable to the masses. Furthermore, fundamentals of this system still in widespread use today allow the production of cheap medicines.

The point of science is to change people’s lives, however, it must be practical as well as possible. The ambitions of science alone can often be unrealistic, and were it not for the savvy of the business mind, the end product may never be attainable for the wider market.

We must also remember that, before the Eureka moment is reached, there are often exorbitant sums of money that must be invested and often burned before the water spills from the bath. Were it not for the drive to market from the business world, many applications we rely on would simply not be possible; take for example the electronics industry.

Like most things in life, when it comes to science and business, it really is better when we’re together.

Written by Sean O'Callaghan